The reason writing a good six-page memo is harder than creating a 20-slide PowerPoint deck is because the narrative structure of a good memo forces better thought and better understanding of scope and what’s more important than that.
#Day one amazon how to#
As with the press release, I wrote many six-pagers inside Amazon, and I taught others in the company how to better use six-pagers to advance an idea for a product or a service. Sales exceeded expectations.Īlthough I value the internal press release as an important tool, the technique I credit the most for giving Amazon an advantage is the disciplined and rigorous use of six-page memos referred to as a “six pager” inside Amazon. Using a six-page memo and an internal press release, the scope of the project was changed, additional protein was added, and the product was released under a different name with packaging touting the higher protein content. A high-protein food product was viewed as having too little protein, so customers ignored the product. After meeting with the team responsible for creating the product and bringing the product to market, it was clear that not enough effort was placed on understanding what value (if any) the product would give to a customer. For example, a CPG (consumer packaged goods) client that hired me had released a food product on the market, but sales were dismal. How? The press release and six-page memo, early in the process, would have pinpointed that the scope of the project was focused on the product itself and not on the value to customers. I have been in many situations since I left Amazon in which I was able to identify that writing a press release and a six-page memo would have saved a consulting client millions of dollars and countless hours in wasted time and effort. The rule of thumb I used at Amazon was this: If it was hard to write a press release or understand why a product or service would add value to customers, the product or service wasn’t worth the effort. I never witnessed a product or service become a reality if the press release didn’t effectively identify the value of the product or service to the customer. I wrote multiple press releases when I worked for Amazon, I read numerous press releases, and I taught others how to write press releases.
I have read the original press release for Prime and Prime Now, and I can attest that the actual programs achieved the goals as outlined in each press release.Īt a high-level, the press release follows this outline: An internal press release was written centered around the existing problem (high costs, slow deliveries), why current solutions had failed to correct the problem, and how the new product (Prime) would blow away all existing solutions. Prime appeared to be a solution that would meet both customer needs. Instead of starting with an idea for a product and trying to convince executives that customers will “love the idea,” Amazon works from the perspective of the customer to come up with ideas that will legitimately generate value. For example, Prime was created because it was understood within Amazon that customers wanted to buy quality products for less money, and customers wanted to receive products as fast as possible. Although written in the form of an actual press release, it is not distributed to the press for publication.Īmazon is focused like a laser on customers. Note: The press release is for internal use only. Most of the six-page memos I read also contained an internal press release at the beginning of the memo to provide a high-level understanding the of the product or service being proposed and discussed.Īlthough it may seem counterintuitive to believe something as simple as an internal press release and a six-page memo can be considered primary among the keys to Amazon’s success, it’s true. What makes the memos interesting is that they have writing on both sides of the paper so, in essence, 12 pages are being read. Instead, Amazon requires everyone, regardless of their title, to begin meetings by reading every word in six-page memos. Unlike most companies where people come to meetings to review PowerPoint slides, Amazon doesn’t use PowerPoint. Why? Because they were the most efficient and exciting meetings I had ever attended for any company. One of the things I enjoyed most working at Amazon was attending meetings. Amazon succeeds because it attracts and hires the most capable individuals from all over the world. Subscribe to Observer’s Business Newsletterīefore moving deeper into this article, I want to make it clear that I am not suggesting that only six-page memos and press releases are the reason for Amazon’s success.
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